The Odd Couples Fic
by Dewfrost
Summary: In this fic, pick two cats, give me a reason why they could be together, and I'll write a fic about them. Any two cats at all...rules are inside.
1. Guidelines

Okay, so I've hit a bit of a roadblock for my Sunset fic- I hate the chappie that I've just written and really just don't feel like fixing it. I'm not sure when I'll get more ideas for it- could be tomorrow, could be a week or longer...but as soon as I can I'll get back to work on it, I promise!

Here's a new fic to keep you all from hating me- a Pick Your Couples fic. Sort of like my Warrior Couples fic, a series of one-shots about Warrior Couples. But the catch here is that I want the most out-there couples you can think of. In a review or pm, give me two cats and a REASON why they could be a couple. I'll write a one-shot about them, as believable as I can make it.

Here are a couple rules:

1.) I don't do slash. Ditto for incest. So no Brackenfur&Frostfur (HE'S HER SON) or Sorreltail&Sootfur (THEY'RE SIBLINGS).

2.) I won't do the couple unless you leave a reason why they could be together. It could be anything, just "they're in the same Clan, it could happen" or "It seemed like they were into each other in Forest of Secrets" or whatever. Just a reason, something I could build on.

3.) I'll do them as fast as I can, as many as I can, but if I get one that I just can't work with; that's it.

4.) Pick new couples, not ones that are stated (Firestar&Sandstorm, Graystripe&Silverstream, etc.) And none that are in my Warrior Couples fic, since I've already done them.

That's it. Please give me suggestions, and I'll mention in the AN at the beginning of the fic that it was your suggestion, of course.

Thanks!

EDIT: Icyeh pointed out that my comment against doing slash fics was rather inappropriate. I've removed it, and I apologize if I offended anyone. However, I'm still not going to do slash chapters for this particular fic just because it doesn't seem like something that could actually happen in the Warriors series.


	2. RainSwallow

**My first "odd couple", suggested by Gaze of Sea. This is Rainwhisker&Swallowtail (of RiverClan). If you look at Starlight, you can see a hint of it there at the Gathering. It starts off around the last leg of their journey to their new home, after they've crossed the mountains and left Stormfur. **

The dark gray tomcat flattened himself against the turf, dark blue eyes fixated on the rustling of the bushes ahead. He felt a growl rise in his throat, but stifled it out so that he may keep silent. His claws unsheathed, and with a ripple of muscle he leaped.

A moment later he held the shrew in his jaws, and felt a flicker of satisfaction in the kill. He was just setting it down when a dark tabby she-cat padded out into the open towards him. "Nice catch, Rainwhisker."

"Thanks, Swallowtail." He nodded to her as she padded to his side, beginning to uncover the rest of the prey they'd caught. "We'd better get back to the others."

"Yeah." Rainwhisker didn't try to hide his disappointment that the hunt was over, and Swallowtail seemed to share his feeling. "Still, we've been on our paws all day. It'll be good to get some sleep."

"We'll reach our new home soon," Rainwhisker meowed.

"Sure we will." Swallowtail rolled her green eyes. "I don't know about you, but I've kept my eyes on the horizon for a long time now- and I haven't seen anything that looks remotely like our new home."

Rainwhisker flicked her with his tail. "How can you say that? You don't even know what we're supposed to be looking for!"

"I know what _I'm _looking for," mewed Swallowtail, lifting her head to the sky. "Water full of fish, and reeds to hide in. Willows and marshes, and a nest full of moss."

Rainwhisker let out a purr of laughter. "You can keep your fish- I don't fancy spitting out scales while I'm eating."

Swallowtail's whiskers twitched, and her dancing eyes met Rainwhisker's for a long moment. The ThunderClan cat felt his pelt prickle and his paws itch. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable- so why was it that he didn't want to turn away?

&&&

Leopardstar met them as they returned to where the Clans were gathered. "Well done," she meowed, eyeing their fresh-kill. "Take that to the elders- and keep a piece for yourselves. There's enough in these hills we're at for every cat to get a share."

Pleased at the thought of being able to ease the ache in his belly, Rainwhisker followed Swallowtail to where a group of ShadowClan and RiverClan elders were gathered. Birchkit and Dawnflower, a RiverClan queen's litter were sitting in front of them, eagerly listening to what the old cats said.

"All the Clans had come together," meowed the former medicine cat Runningnose, "Into one great joint Clan that we called LionClan."

"LionClan!" echoed one of the kits in awe.

"Yes, like the great lions of the past," meowed Loudbelly, a RiverClan elder. "Together, we were stronger than ever before, and we had the strength to drive out BloodClan."

"Were BloodClan very fierce?" mewed Birchkit.

"Yes they were," Shadepelt mewed solemnly. "In fact, I'd still be a warrior if it weren't for them. They ruined my leg." She stretched out her hind leg, and Rainwhisker winced when he saw how twisted and scarred it was. The kits squeaked in terror.

"Don't you worry," Swallowtail meowed as she came up behind them, setting down her fresh-kill. "BloodClan is long gone. We made sure of that!"

She bent down to give one of the kits a lick, and Rainwhisker couldn't help but admire her soft tone. She looked up at Shadepelt, amusement glinting in her eyes. "Scaring the little ones again, Shadepelt?"

The dark gray she-cat twitched her tail. "No more than Loudbelly is by just being here!"

The tabby elder took a swipe at her as Rainwhisker set his prey down. "Here you go."

Loudbelly sniffed it suspiciously, and Swallowtail prodded him. "Honestly, Loudbelly, Rainwhisker's not going to try to poison you. We're all friends here."

"Until we get to the new home," Boulder of ShadowClan warned her. "Then things will go back to normal."

Swallowtail glanced at him before looking back at Rainwhisker. Instead of answering Boulder, she only meowed, "Want to share fresh-kill?"

"Sure." Picking up a rabbit and leaving the rest for the elders, he followed her across the clearing where the cats were spending the night. They were all mingled together, sharing tongues and fresh-kill. Rainwhisker saw his brother Sootfur sitting with Tornear and Robinwing of WindClan, and Firestar with Blackstar. Swallowtail followed his gaze.

"I wonder how long it'll last," she murmured.

Rainwhisker sighed, took a bite of the rabbit, and pushed it towards her. "Like Boulder said: until we reach our new home."

Swallowtail didn't touch the rabbit. She was staring at him again. "The thing is, Rainwhisker..." she meowed quietly, "I almost _want _it to last longer."

Rainwhisker looked into her eyes, the same color as the forest that he'd loved and left behind. There was something in their depths, a flicker of warmth for him that he'd never seen in any other cat. It made his paws start prickling again, but this time he had a better idea of what it meant.

&&&

The cats were rushing around and making their good-byes, for it was time for them to go their seperate ways as they explored the land around the lake. Rainwhisker padded around the crowd. He wished Whitetail of WindClan good luck and licked her kits one by one, then said his farewell to Cedarheart. The dark gray tom flicked him with his tail as he leaped away.

"Rainwhisker!" Her familiar voice made him turn, and he was surprised by the purr that rose in his throat as Swallowtail came into sight. The dark tabby she-cat sidestepped some elders to reach his side. "Hey. I was afraid that I wasn't going to find you."

Rainwhisker awkwardly bobbed his head up and down. "Good hunting," he meowed.

Swallowtail leaned forward, touching her muzzle in between his eyes. Warmth exploded inside of Rainwhisker, though he knew that she would never be able to give him such an affectionate gesture again. He licked her shoulder. "See you, Swallowtail."

"At Gatherings," she mewed. There was real regret in her tone, and Rainwhisker felt it too. "Yeah. At Gatherings."

"I'll miss hunting with you," Swallowtail meowed.

Rainwhisker nodded wordlessly, but at that moment Swallowtail withdrew sharply, a fire flaring in her tone. "What are we doing, Rainwhisker? Why does it matter whether we hunt together or not? We're from different Clans!"

The ThunderClan warrior took a pace back, trying to keep his sorrow out of his mew. "It shouldn't matter," he meowed.

"But it does." Swallowtail spoke bluntly, almost angrily. "I don't want to care about you, Rainwhisker, but I do. Why, StarClan? How could I ever care about a ThunderClan cat?"

Her voice had risen to a growl, and Rainwhisker felt as if she was ripping into his heart. _She doesn't want to care about me. She doesn't want to like me. _

His eyes narrowed to dark blue slits as the pain spun quickly to anger, as quickly as the frost evaporated on warm mornings. "You know what, Swallowtail? I'll see you at Gatherings. That's it, okay?"

The dark gray warrior padded away and left her staring after him. Rainwhisker didn't let himself look back at her, but if he had he would have seen the regret and sorrow in her eyes, and then he might have made a very different decision.

As it was, Rainwhisker chose the warrior code over love. He was not the first cat to maek that decision, and he was not the first to know the pain of it. But as he left he told himself- and StarClan- something.

_This won't be the last time I see her. And I'll never forget her. _

He promised it to StarClan, and, as a good warrior, he kept that promise.

**And next up...well, I haven't decided yet. But I have a lot of suggestions to work with; keep 'em coming!**


	3. BirchApple

**Here is Birchkit and Applekit, sometime after they become apprentices. It was suggested by Rosetail's Loyalty. And everyone knows how they touched noses in Starlight (aka the CUTEST MOMENT IN THE ENTIRE BOOK). That's all the evidence I need. They are just so CUTE...**

**Sorry. I love this couple. Also, new rule: NO CATS THAT ALREADY HAVE MATES. (ie Firestar, Ferncloud). I will, however, do a fic with the two before one of them (or both of them) get their mates, or with one missing the other one since they already have a mate. (ie Dusty and Sandstorm, or Stormfur and Squirrelflight). **

"All alone, Brambleclaw?" Birchpaw faced his mentor, shuffling his paws in a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

"Yes. Up the ShadowClan border. Renew the scent markings, and see if you can catch yourself a vole, while you're at it." Brambleclaw bent so that he was eye-level with the apprentice. "It'll be your first time out in the forest alone. I know you're ready."

Assured by the warm certainty in the other cat's eyes, Birchpaw leaped up. "Okay!"

Brambleclaw let out a _mrrow _of laughter and gave the gray cat an affectionate lick. "Remember to report to Graystripe when you get back!"

Birchpaw leaped down the thorn tunnel, out into the forest. He skidded to a halt once he had cleared the stone hollow and started to walk more slowly, falling into the crouch that Brambleclaw had taught him.

"I'm not afraid of any ShadowClan warriors!" he growled to himself. "Feel my teeth, Blackstar!"

He stepped on a twig and the snap made him let out an involuntarily squeak of alarm. A bit ashamed by this, he continued on more warily.

The birds sang from the trees, and the young cat could hear the scrabbling of mice in the undergrowth. It was truly greenleaf, and Birchpaw's claws unsheathed as he thought of coming back to camp with some fresh-kill to present to his mother Ferncloud. Maybe he could even impress his prickly father, Dustpelt!

Slowly, the forest began to switch to pine, and a pungent odor of ShadowClan entered Birchpaw's nose. He blinked as he neared the border and moved silently, beginning to wonder what would happen if he really did run into some ShadowClan warriors.

He dared to sit up and look across the border, wrinkling his nose at the wet barren of ShadowClan territory. "How can they ever stand to live there?" he mewed to himself.

Without warning, a heavy weight dropped on him from behind. Birchpaw let out a yowl of alarm as he felt claws grip his sides and struggled madly, to no avail. He was just beginning to panic when he heard the friendly purr in his ear. "I see your moves haven't gotten any better."

She leaped off of him and strolled across so that she was standing opposite of him, and Birchpaw blinked twice before he recognized her. "Applekit?"

"Apple_paw_," she corrected, with a touch of pride. "And you're Birchpaw now, right?"

"Yeah!" Caught by sudden joy, Birchpaw leaped towards her and licked her face. "I haven't seen you since the Clans seperated!"

The reddish-gold she-cat blinked her yellow eyes at him. "I know. I'm too newly apprenticed to go to Gatherings yet."

"Me too." Birchpaw stepped back awkwardly. "So, how is ShadowClan? And Toadkit and Marshkit?"

"Marshpaw and Toadpaw are fine," she answered with a wave of her tail. "Arguing about which one of them will be the best ShadowClan warrior when the time comes."

"Well, they'd better watch out for me!" Birchpaw bent down. "I'm going to be the best fighter ThunderClan's ever seen!"

"Oh, right." Applepaw twitched her whiskers. "if I had _really _been after you, you would have been fresh-kill there!"

"I'll show you fresh-kill!" Birchpaw leaped at her and they tumbled over across the border, spitting and hissing playfully, their claws sheathed and their eyes dancing with amusement. When at last Applepaw dislodged Birchpaw and threw him off he landed against a tree, panting hard. She stood over him. "See? Fresh-kill."

"Okay, so I've got a bit left to learn." Birchpaw pushed himself to his paws. "But I'll be a warrior yet."

"I'm sure you will." Applepaw looked at him. The humor was gone from her eyes, but not the warmth. "You'll be a great warrior, Birchpaw. I'm sure of it."

"Er..." Birchpaw's flecked gray fur tingled, and he found himself having difficulty meeting her eyes. "So how's your training going?" he asked, trying to break through the moment.

Soon the awkwardness was forgotten as the two young cats discussed their training and mentors, worries and ambitions. Birchpaw was greatly relieved to have someone to share all this with- there weren't any other cats in ThunderClan his age, and he was the only apprentice. Applepaw had Toadpaw and Marshpaw to confide in, but she too seemed to enjoy talking as much as he did.

Not once did the young cats think about how they were from different Clans, and how they shouldn't be meeting. _How can it be bad? _wondered Birchpaw. _We all came together to find our new home, after all. None of the Clan leaders had a problem with our friendship then. It shouldn't change!_

Finally the sun began to set, and Applepaw looked towards it regretfully. "I should go. I'm on hunting duty and have to pick up my fresh-kill."

Birchpaw nodded. "Brambleclaw will think I've been eaten by a badger if he doesn't see me back soon."

Applepaw stepped closer, touching her nose to Birchpaw's cheek. "See you, then."

"Definately." Birchpaw nuzzled her, wondering how the ShadowClan scent, which had always seemed so putrid, could suddenly be so comforting.

Applepaw took a pace towards the border, and then she looked back. For a moment that may have been a heartbeat, or perhaps several moons, she watched Birchpaw. Then she put her paws completely into ShadowClan territory. Within a few moments the reddish-gold apprentice had been swallowed up by the marshes.

Birchpaw was still motionless. He wasn't quite sure why, but he found his paws rooted to the spot, his green eyes trained on Applepaw's disappearing form, her bright fur like fallen leaves. When she disappeared altogether, he still felt that warm fire inside him. It burned in his heart and belly, leaving behind thoughts and feelings that he found that he could not even begin to understand. Not quite yet.

**Okay, say it with me now: AWWWW!**


	4. WhiteShrew

**New chappie, this one is Whitepaw&Shrewpaw, suggested by Mudfoot and Twitcherz. Takes place sometime in Dawn, before they begin their journey. **

A cold blast of air awakened Whitepaw. Her green eyes flashed open and she scrabbled against the sheer stone she slept on, feeling stiff. _I miss the apprentices' den._

She blinked away her drowsiness and turned her head, seeing that Shrewpaw was beside her. The brown apprentice was awake; she saw the flash of sunlight against his open eyes. He was on his side, and watching Squirrelpaw. Just _watching _her. Whitepaw felt her lip curl. What did he see in Squirrelpaw? She was so _arrogant. _She never listened to anyone. Whitepaw felt like rolling her eyes whenever Squirrelpaw insisted on arguing over nothing, as if she knew so much more than everyone else.

"Shrewpaw," she meowed, to distract him. "Do you want to go hunting?"

"We won't find much of anything," he commented, but he leaped up all the same.

Squirrelpaw's dark green eyes flashed open. "I'll come too," she offered.

"Great!" meowed Shrewpaw, before Whitepaw could think of an excuse for her not to. The white apprentice trailed after them, into the open air of Sunningrocks. She wondered if she could somehow get Shrewpaw alone while they were hunting, or if he would be too caught up in Squirrelpaw.

There was the sound of claws against stone, and then a broud-shouldered dark tabby cat was padding up to them. Brambleclaw nodded to them and then turned his deep amber eyes on Squirrelpaw. "Hey, Squirrelpaw," he meowed. "Do you want to go on patrol with me?"

Immidiately Squirrelpaw's tail curled up, and her eyes shone with a new light. "Sure."

Brambleclaw seemed pleased, too, and as the two cats set off their tails touched. Whitepaw glanced sideways at Shrewpaw. He looked rather forlorn as he looked after Squirrelpaw.

_She likes Brambleclaw more than him, _she thought. _But does that mean that Shrewpaw will give up on her?  
_

A part of her wished that he would. Then maybe he would see there were others out there- like Whitepaw herself. She bounded up beside him. "We can still go hunting," she offered.

Shrewpaw blinked at her. "Okay."

The two apprentices set off into the forest, looking for somewhere to hunt that hadn't been scarred by Twolegs. As they crossed one particularly desolate place, Shrewpaw looked around, his eyes narrowing with anger.

"How can they do this?" he demanded. "They're ruining everything! What'll we do when there's no place left for us?"

"I don't know." Whitepaw's nose wrinkled as she smelled the reek of the Twoleg monsters. She stood beside the tom, trying to find some way to console him. "What if we do leave, like Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw say we should?"

Shrewpaw's fur bristled. "That'd be even worse," he mewed. "Who knows what's out there, waiting to get us?"

"How's it any better, though, being here? We know what's trying to get us, but that doesn't mean we can stop them." Whitepaw looked at the broken earth where a tree had been ripped up, and she shivered.

A warm flank pressed against hers as Shrewpaw rubbed against her. There was something new in his gaze as he looked at her, and it made her paws prickle and her heart pound. "They won't get you, Whitepaw," he murmured. "I won't let them."

&&&

"Here." Whitepaw passed the vole to Ferncloud. It hurt to look at the queen, with her watery-eyed stare and and her thin pelt, drenched with the heavily falling rain. It clung to her, making it obvious how horribly skinny she was. "Please eat it, Ferncloud. Birchkit needs you!"

"Hollykit and Larchkit needed me too," muttered Ferncloud. "And did I save them?"

"That wasn't your fault," Whitepaw mewed. "They-"

Her voice was broken off by thunder, but instead of the illuminating lightning that should have followed, there was a dreadful squeal. Ferncloud's ears shot up and the roar of a sudden monster drowned out her cry of alarm.

Thornclaw's voice rose above the pounding of the rain. "No!"

Whitepaw jerked her head up. Thornclaw was Shrewpaw's mentor. Could something have...no. She didn't let herself think of it, only abandoned Ferncloud and the vole, leaping up the stones until she reached the one that the noise had come from. Then she froze.

Thornclaw was crouched on the slope. A Twoleg monster was chugging away, completely unaware of the cats. And just in front of Thornclaw, laying defenseless on the rock, was Shrewpaw. He was dead; the rain stained red as it fell off of him. His eyes were glazed and empty.

Whitepaw's eyes were huge, and she felt herself sway on her paws. _No, no! _she wailed inside. _How could they have done this? To Shrewpaw, who never did anything to them!_

Thornclaw threw back his head and let out a howl of grief. Whitepaw felt herself echoing it, though she wasn't truly aware of what she was doing. Cinderpelt and Leafpaw came running and nosed him, as if there was something they could do. But Whitepaw knew that it was too late.

_Just like he realized to late that he liked me._

&&&

Later, Whitepaw sat vigil. Her head was low, and she felt grief eat at her inside far more than any hunger ever did. She stared down at Shrewpaw's body. It was limp and bloody, his neck grotesquely twisted. Cinderpelt said that it had broken, which meant that he hadn't felt any pain. Somehow that wasn't any comfort at all.

Ferncloud lay asleep on her son's other side. Whitepaw hadn't the heart to wake her to continue to hold the vigil, not when she so badly needed to sleep. And how could she bring herself to force Ferncloud back into the real world, where she was suffering so much?

Thornclaw had sat for a while, but he too had gone to the warriors' den to sleep. He was needed for the dawn patrol, and Whitepaw knew that, even in all the suffering, they couldn't forget their duties.

So the young she-cat sat alone in the darkness, beside the cat she had cared for more than any other. As she stared at the lifeless body of Shrewpaw, she willed him to open his eyes, to look at her, just one more time. She wished she could have told him how he felt. Then would he have looked to her, instead of Squirrelpaw?

Whitepaw didn't know the answer, however hard she thought about. She squeezed her green eyes shut, trying to hold her sorrow inside. _Oh, Shrewpaw._

"Whitepaw." The voice was familiar, but so faint she thought she had imagined it. "Leave me alone," she mumbled.

"Whitepaw, come on." This time her eyes flew open, and it was several seconds before she realized they weren't decieving her. A small wiry cat stood on the top of one of the Sunningrocks, looking down at her. His form was like a shadow, but his eyes were bright with spirit, like always.

"Shrewpaw!" she whispered, not daring to raise her voice in case it wasn't true.

"Whitepaw, oh Whitepaw." He was leaping down the slope to her, and Whitepaw stayed frozen as he came, waiting to wake up, or for him to dissolve into mist. But he didn't, and when he reached her side he brushed past her, his muzzle against hers. His touch was soft like a cobweb, and his scent filled her nose, different than she remembered, tinged with ice and wild forests that she didn't know. It was the scent of StarClan.

"Shrewpaw," she mewed again.

"Whitepaw. I'm sorry," he murmured.

"For what?"

"For being mouse-brained."

Her whiskers twitched, and she let out a _mrrow _of laughter. "It's all right."

His amber eyes sparkled at her, and she looked down, unable to hold his gaze now that it was so full of unfamiliar wisdom and knowledge. "But you belong in StarClan now, Shrewpaw. I can't change that."

The small brown tom touched his nose to hers, and then his starry form melded with the night sky around him. She heard his voice one more time, though. "Hey, Whitepaw. Don't worry about it. Any time you need to see me, look at Silverpelt. I'll be there, hunting with StarClan. Okay?"

Whitepaw craned her head upward and whispered in a voice that carried on the wind, "Okay."

**I kind of made it detatched, just in case Whitepaw meets someone else in Twilight or Sunset. (I'm volleying for Spiderleg or Sootfur or Rainwhisker). Anytime she NEEDS to see him...so she may (like Crowfeather) she'll forget him someday (if they were actually together). Maybe.**

**More suggestions are good, and PLEASE stop giving me Graystripe ones. I'm totally against him meeting anyone besides Silverstream- they were totally meant to be, and he won't forget her! (In my opinion). **


	5. LittleCinder

**Here's the new chappie, Littlecloud&Cinderpelt, taking place in Rising Storm and then carried over to later, after The Darkest Hour. It was suggested by I Be Guest andSafari Dawnheart. Here you go...**

Littlecloud's small body shook as he hacked, coughing and choking and spluttering. His nose was running and his head throbbed. He felt exhausted from the mere struggle of trying to stay awake and alive.

"Littlecloud." The soft mew didn't register at first, and he finally opened his bleary eyes. She stood over him, horror in her gaze. "Littlecloud! Are you okay?"

"I'm...all right," he wheezed. "How's White-" he coughed- "Whitethroat?"

"Okay." She seemed reluctant to go into more detail. With her forepaw she pushed a bundle of berries towards him. "I just got these. Try them. They might help."

"More?" he mumbled.

"Yes. Yellowfang said that there wasn't any cure, but...just try them, Littlecloud. They might work."

He gazed up at Cinderpelt. She had tried so hard to help him and Whitethroat. Others would have dismissed them as a lost cause- all of ThunderClan had- but not the young medicine cat. There was a thin hope in her stare as Littlecloud bent and chewed the berries, swallowing with difficulty.

"I should be getting back to camp," she meowed. "Will you be all right?"

"Yes." Littlecloud didn't know if it was true, but he didn't want to keep her there when she could get caught. "We'll be okay."

He twitched his tail feebly at where Whitethroat lay, a miserable scrap of black-and-white fur. Cinderpelt leaned forward, her muzzle brushing the tip of his ear, not close enough to risk getting infected with the illness, but enough to offer comfort.

"See you."

He was too weak to reply, but his eyes were trained on her as she left him, watching her hobble awkwardly with her twisted leg. All the while he was wishing that he could be beside her, helping the crippled she-cat continue on, instead of the other way around.

&&&

"That's right."

Cinderpelt's sky-blue eyes watched him as he chewed up berries the way she had shown him, to make a poultice that would cure the sickness. Soon he would return to ShadowClan to deliver it to Nightstar and the others. Littlecloud marveled at how his strength was coming back, and how his cough had nearly disappeared. He was beginning to feel like a warrior again...but there was something marring that feeling, and it wasn't sickness.

"Hey, Cinderpelt," he meowed as he spat out the berries, "What's it like, being a medicine cat?"

Cinderpelt's tail curled up. "It's great!" she declared, and then went on, "Well, I'll never know what it's like to be a warrior, but I love being a medicine cat. It's a feeling...like you're answering a calling that came from inside you- or perhaps StarClan themselves. It's hard to explain, but it's wonderful."

Littlecloud listened, enraptured, and wondering if he would ever know of such a feeling. He had become a warrior too young, forced into battles by Brokentail. He still flinched away from fights, simply because they reminded him of all he had suffered as an unwilling apprentice.

The tom stared down at the berries. They had saved him. These odd little shriveled things had kept him from joining StarClan. It was a marvel to him, and he found himself wanting to know more about them, to save more cats with them.

He jumped to his paws. "I should be getting back to ShadowClan," he commented, suddenly excited at the prospect. "Before more cats die."

Cinderpelt nodded. "Yes, you should." Was that a gleam of regret he saw in her eyes? "If you run into Whitethroat-"

"I'll try to convince him to come back with me. I don't know how much good it'll do, though." Littlecloud shook away his sorrow. His friend had left the day before. He didn't want to go back to the ShadowClan camp out of fear of catching the sickness again, even though Littlecloud now had the herbs to cure them.

Cinderpelt passed him a leaf full of the berries. "You know where to find more if you need them."

He nodded, taking the leaf in his own jaws. He stretched his paws out in front of him and set off back for home, back to the marshes where the frogs that he loved to chase lived. Something snagged in his heart for a couple of moments, though, and for a second it crossed his mind that he might be leaving something behind.

&&&

Cinderpelt was quiet on the way to the Moonstone. Littlecloud walked beside her behind all the rest of the medicine cats. Barkface. Runningnose, and Mudfur quietly padded along, discussing the uses of lavender. Cinderpelt's ears were pricked towards their conversation, though it was clear she was thinking about something else.

Littlecloud was full of pride to be walking among them. On the last visit he had become a full medicine cat, and he now padded as an equal with the other healers. He was especially glad to be beside Cinderpelt. He had realized his feelings for the she-cat so long ago; not long after he himself had become Runningnose's apprentice. He had promised himself that he would never say anything about them- both because he didn't want to cause discomfort between them, and out of the hope that they would just fade away. But he had realized that that wasn't about to happen, and he wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

"The sky is clear," Cinderpelt mused. "StarClan must be ready to speak to us tonight."

"Yes," agreed Littlecloud. He glanced at her. "Has Sandstorm had her kits yet?"

Cinderpelt nodded, relief clear in her expression. Littlecloud knew how much she feared the birth of kits, ever since the RiverClan queen Silverstream had died in her care. "Two she-cats. One looks exactly like Firestar- and I'll be surprised if she doesn't turn out the hero that he is. The other..."

Littlecloud pricked up his ears. The humor had died from her voice. "What about her?"

"Her name is Leafkit," Cinderpelt meowed. "Firestar says that StarClan themselves chose the name. I can't help wondering if it doesn't mean something."

"But what?"

"Some herbs are leaves," Cinderpelt murmured. "And...Firestar is often visited by Spottedleaf in his dreams."

"Wasn't she ThunderClan's medicine cat before Yellowfang?" queried Littlecloud.

"Yes. If Spottedleaf chose her name- it makes me wonder if she may turn out to be a medicine cat."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," Littlecloud mewed cheerily. "She's Firestar's kit- StarClan knows she'll be bright enough for the task."

"Yes, you're right." Cinderpelt's fur lay flat and her eyes shone at him. "Thanks, Littlecloud."

He nodded, and he held her gaze for a long time, trying to decide how deep the affection for him ran inside her. "Cinderpelt, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Anything."

Littlecloud opened his mouth, ready to confess his feelings, to throw himself out there to see what would happen. Then he realized what it would mean in the end- what the chances of her responding positively were- and he closed it again. "Um...all the juniper is dead in our territory. Do you know what else I can use for bellyache?"

She reeled off a list of a couple of substitutes, but Littlecloud wasn't listening anymore. He felt cold inside, and bitter at his own cowardness. He fell behind as Cinderpelt joined the other medicine cats, with his tail trailing and his ears flat.

Cinderpelt's fur was turned silver in the moonlight, and her eyes shone with spirit. She looked like a cat from StarClan, and Littlecloud's ears twitched.

_Her paws- and mine- are on the path of a medicine cat, _he thought. _How could I ever forgive myself if I made her rethink it all?  
_

So he would settle for being her friend, even though the ShadowClan tom knew in his heart that he would never forget his feelings for her. Not even if he ever wanted to.

**Yeah, I think Littlecloud had a bit of a crush on Cinderpelt, and he just never told her, since it would screw up the med. cat thing. But anyway...Reviews are appriciated! **


	6. LeafCrag

**Here you are- I FINALLY updated. This one is Leafpool&Crag, suggested by .-Golden.Rose-., and I think people seconded it, but I'm not sure. On the grounds that they shared in Dawn and Leafpool "dipped her head shyly". I am totally with her there, the shy around guys thing. -gets off topic- **

**Anyway, hope you like it. Not so much romance, but I did like writing it. **

The sound of the waterfall had always been music to Crag, but no longer. Now it was nothing more than an endless thudding of water against stone, over and over again, never changing, always predictable. It made him want to scratch his claws against the rocks, if only to have another sound to listen to.

He hadn't always been so irritable and cold. In fact, most of the time he wasn't. But ever since the Clans had left, there had been something wrong with him. It was like a tick on his back that he couldn't reach, that bit harder and harder and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So what is it, eh?" Stormfur sat opposite him after a long day of hunting while Crag and the other cave-guards watched over his group. Crag was good friends with the former forest cat, even though they hadn't known each other that long. He liked Stormfur's steady loyalty and determination- they were useful in the mountains.

"What do you mean?" Crag took a bite of a falcon and chewed it as he passed the rest of the bird to Stormfur. The gray cat ripped off a piece of rabbit before tossing it Crag's way in return.

"There's something bothering you." Stormfur stared at him, his amber eyes wide. "And I'm not the only one who's noticed. Brook says so, too."

"It's nothing," grumbled Crag, shaking his head. "Don't worry yourself with it, Stormfur."

His friend eyed him as if he did not quite think that he was speaking the truth, but he didn't say any more about it. Crag picked at the rabbit, wondering. What _was _bothering him? Was it something to do with the Clans? Was the Tribe of Endless Hunting telling him something?

"Stormfur," he meowed, with sudden thought. "Will you tell me about your old home? The Clans?"

Stormfur's tail twitched. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about the cats you knew. Were they very different from the Tribe?"

The gray prey-hunter blinked. "Our ways were different. But the cats themselves...I don't think so."

"What was different?" asked Crag curiously.

"Well, each Clan had a leader, like Stoneteller- they shared dreams with StarClan, just like he learns things from the Tribe of Endless Hunting. And they had a deputy, who would take over as leader when they lost the last of their nine lives."

"The Tribe of Endless Hunting will tell Stoneteller when he is to soon lose his last life," Crag meowed. "So that he knows and can prepare."

Stormfur blinked. "Maybe that is because it's so much harsher here. You accept death more easily than we did in the Clans."

Crag shrugged his massive shoulders. "Maybe."

"We also had a medicine cat," Stormfur went on. "They were healers, like Stoneteller is, only they didn't lead as well."

"Who was...medicine cat..." Crag stumbled over the new word that he hadn't learned when he had met the Clan cats in person himself, "...for your Tribe?"

"RiverClan's medicine cat was Mothwing," Stormfur mewed. "Mudfur was her mentor- he died because of the Twoleg monsters. Barkface is medicine cat for WindClan, Littlecloud for ShadowClan, and Cinderpelt for ThunderClan. Leafpaw is her apprentice."

"Yes, Leafpaw," echoed Crag. "She is Squirrelpaw's sister, is she not?"

Stormfur nodded. "I don't know her very well, but she and Squirrelpaw are very close."

"Siblings should be close," Crag agreed. _Just as you and Feathertail were, _he thought, but didn't dare say it aloud, not wanting to reawaken his friend's grief for his kin. Instead he turned his attention to a few kit-mothers as they led their offspring across the cave. "Ah. Wing's litter are on their first legs at last."

Stormfur's tail curled up. This was important, especially for Tribe kits. They would not last long in the mountains if they could not get around on their own paws. Wing looked ready to burst with pride as the three little cats followed her across the stone.

An older mud-streaked cat appeared from his den, padding over to the kits. They looked up at him with huge kitten eyes as he pressed his silver-streaked muzzle against them each in turn, a rare gesture of affection. Wing nodded to him, and he touched his tail to her flank as well.

"I didn't know they were Stoneteller's kits, too," Stormfur commented.

"A Tribe-healer has many kits," Crag replied. "They are blessed, for the Tribe of Endless Hunting may pass his wisdom and skill down upon them." He looked at Stormfur in surprise. "Do the Clans not say the same?"

Stormfur shook his head. "Clan medicine cats are forbidden to have mates or kits."

Crag felt something prick at him, but it didn't quite register. "Why is this?"

Stormfur shrugged. "It's StarClan's way."

"StarClan's ways are odd," meowed Crag.

Stormfur let out a _mrrow _of laughter as he turned away, heading across the cave to meet Brook as she padded in with a hunting group. "The Clans could say the same about the Tribe of Endless Hunting."

_What do the Clans say about the Tribe? _wondered Crag. For reasons he could not understand, his mind landed on the young tabby cat that had shared with him moons ago. _And Leafpaw? What does she think of me?_

&&&

Crag tossed and turned among his cave-guards that night. As the chief of them he slept in the very center of the group, but tonight he didn't feel the comfort of the familiar fur around him. He ended up staring blankly around the cave, until at last his eyelids became too heavy to hold and he let himself drop off into dreams.

He stood in the darkness of an unfamiliar cave. The muscles bunched beneath muddy pelt as he looked around, trying to pinpoint the light that would lead to the exit. He couldn't see any. Was he trapped in this place?

For a few long beats of his heart he stood frozen, and then he lifted one paw, placing it in front of him. Instantly there was the sound of splintering rock from above, and a shower of rubble came down, along with an explosion of sunlight that made Crag screw up his eyes and turn away. He opened them to slits in time to see cats stream through the hole that had been made, bounding down onto the cave floor, leaping to clefts and ledges on the walls. Crag trembled where he stood, for he found himself recognizing some among them. There was Star, killed by Sharptooth not so long ago. His own mother, Moss that Grows On Rocks, blinked at him from a nearby jut of rock. And another cat that he thought he knew- but he had never seen him before- gazed at him from just a tail-length away. And beside him..._Feathertail._

Unlike those of the Tribe, her silver-and-black fur was untouched by mud and gleamed like a pathwork of starlight and shadow. Her blue eyes gleamed as if they were tiny pools, and she met Crag's gaze warmly. "Welcome, Crag, to the cave of the Tribe of Endless Hunting."

"So...you walk among us?" Crag asked tentaintively. "Even though you were not born among us?"

"I watch my brother here," she answered. "And I will never forget the cats I died for."

zx

"She is honored among us." It was the tom that sat beside her. He was bigger than even Crag's friend Talon, and his fur was a thick, snowy white that no amount of mud would ever be able to cover. He padded the short distance between him and Crag, staring at him with blue eyes that were darker than Feathertail's. "You do not know me, Crag Where Eagles Nest," he meowed, "But I know you."

Crag bowed, extending his paw in deepest respect to the white cat, as well as all the others around him. "Who are you?" he asked softly.

"I am Ice On Sheer Cliff," meowed the tom. "Once I was Iceteller."

"That means that you once..." Crag trailed off, his eyes widening with awe.

"Yes, I once led and healed the Tribe of Rushing Water," meowed Ice. "And Stone Where Birds Gather followed me, when I died. But that is not why you are here, Crag. You are here for what we have found inside you. What must not be."

He heard soft hisses rising from the cats around him, and Crag flattened himself to the ground, his ears flattening against their anger. _What did I do? _he wondered. _Never would I disobey the Tribe!  
_

Then the sound died away, and he was aware of Feathertail standing beside him, nudging him gently so that he would rise. "Come," she whispered. "There is something that you...that _we_...must see."

Crag rose to his paws. They were still in the dark cave, now with a broken roof. Feathertail led him confidently into deeper darkness, until the sunlight from the hole only cast faint shadows and he had to narrow his eyes to see at all.

"Look," murmured Feathertail, padding forward a few more steps. Crag walked up beside her and found himself staring into the depths of a shallow pool. The silver she-cat was peering intently into it, and he did the same. Feathertail purred, as if she had found something inside that pleased her. Crag looked harder.

The shadowy image of a she-cat appeared before his eyes, shimmering faintly in the dark water. Amber eyes...a mud-less tabby pelt...yes, it was her. Leafpaw, with her gentle stare and calm voice, curiosity and wisdom that he had heard Stoneteller praise her for. Warmth exploded inside Crag like sunlight streaming free of the clouds.

"Yes!" he called excitedly to Feathertail. "I did not understand it before...but I see it now. She is the one I am thinking about. I must see her again. Could I follow the Clans? Would Stormfur come? He could bring Brook...she would not be so afraid of leaving the mountains if I were with her as well."

Feathertail lifted her intent stare from the pool to look sadly at him. "Oh, Crag," she sighed. "That will never happen. Firstly because she is a medicine cat and forbidden from having a mate. And secondly...most importantly...because of this."

She gestured once more at the water. Crag watched silently as a small leaf fluttered down on its surface. even though there were no trees around that leaves could fall off of. Crag stared longingly at the little shape as it bobbed gently on the pool. Surely it meant _Leafpaw_?

He opened his mouth, but Feathertail shook her head, pointing with an extended paw. Something else was dancing through the air, falling to the pool to join the leaf. At first he thought it was another leaf, but it was a feather, jet black and darker than the shadows that surrounded it. Crag's eyes widened as he watched it land beside the leaf, and they swirled around the pool together.

Two images appeared once more in the depths of the pool. Squinting, Crag made out Leafpaw again, and he felt a purr come to him at the very sight of her. But there was a cat beside her, one he knew...Crag's fur bristled as he realized it was Crowfeather. The two Clan cats were staring at one another, and the look in their eyes was bright and warm. Crag's heart plummeted, and he felt the soft fur of Feathertail as she pressed comfortingly against him.

"I will miss him," she murmured, "And you will miss her. But not StarClan nor the Tribe of Endless Hunting can stand in the way of destiny. Crowfeather and Leafpaw- Leafpool, as she will become- have their paths enterwined, while mine lays alone in the stars, and yours dwells here with your Tribe."

"If I could see her...could I change her mind?" wondered Crag.

Feathertail stepped away from him, and as she went farther into the darkness of the cave, her silver fur swallowed by the shadows, he heard her reply. "Perhaps you could, Crag. But that is not what was supposed to happen, just as Ice told you. This must not be."

Crag stared at the tabby she-cat in the pool, and he wished that he could see her again, even though he knew now that he never would. _It must not be...but what if I want it to be?_


	7. RunningMouse

**Wow, I haven't updated this in a while...I went through the reviews and tried to find the most-suggested odd couple, and the winner was: Runningwind and Mousefur! Aw.**

"Wait up!" Mousefur leaped over a fallen log, skirting a jagged stone as she jumped back down. The brown tabby tom she had called to weaved through the greenleaf undergrowth, avoiding tree roots with light steps. Mousefur paused for a moment to admire his grace, but looked away when he turned around to look at her. His yellow eyes narrowed. "_Catch _up!"

She snorted, but darted after him anyway. "I should have known, even Bluestar couldn't order the great Runningwind to stop his chase once he's started," she teased. His tail flicked her muzzle. "That's right."

Warmth shot through Mousefur's veins at the touch, light and taunting as it was. She suddenly had the speed to catch up to Runningwind, keeping pace with him. Or had he slowed down for her?

"Where's Thornpaw?" he asked. Despite their sprint, he wasn't even panting.

Mousefur's ears twitched, and she reluctantly skidded to a halt to call to her apprentice. "Thornpaw! Where'd you go?"

The small golden tom popped out of a heather bush, carrying the large body of a rabbit in his jaws. His amber eyes were wide with pride at his catch. Runningwind purred with amusement. "Well done!"

"Next time tell us before you make a stop to go hunting, though," Mousefur added.

Thornpaw's ears drooped, and he dropped the rabbit onto the ground. "Sorry."

"It's all right," Runningwind meowed, slinging his tail around the other cat's shoulders. He looked up at Mousefur. "Don't be so hard on him. It isn't as if we're on a strict patrol or anything."

"But we're near the Thunderpath. Even a senior warrior doesn't have the right to go wandering around." Mousefur lashed her tail, and then took a few steps foward to nose the rabbit. "Still, this is a fine catch, Thornpaw. Bury it here, and you can give it to Cinderpelt and Yellowfang when we get back."

Thornpaw's ears shot back up. "Thanks, Mousefur," he meowed, and began to kick dirt over the body. Mousefur glanced at Runningwind over the head and found him looking at her. "You're probably right," he admitted. "And you're the mentor. Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I am too hard on him." She twitched her whiskers and nudged Thornpaw with one of her forelegs. "I'm sure he agrees!"

Runningwind purred and came to rub his shoulder against Mousefur's. Heat spread through her pelt that had nothing to do with the beating sun overhead, but she leaned into the touch until Thornpaw looked up again. His tail curled over his head. "Where to next?"

"The Thunderpath," Mousefur decided, taking the lead. Her paws stirred up puffs of dirt that settled into her pelt, already weighted down from the heat. Runningwind glanced up at the cloudless evening sky. "I feel sorry for the WindClan cats," he commented. "They have to trot around the moors in this weather, and StarClan knows there's no shade there."

"I feel sorry for _us_," Thornpaw complained. "It's so hot, my pads are going to burn off."

Mousefur let out a _mrrow _of laughter. "If they do, you still have to carry that rabbit of yours back to camp. Think of it as punishment for wandering off."

Runningwind's whiskers twitched. "You know Fireheart will hold you responsible if he collapses."

"Well, you'll vouch for me, won't you?" Mousefur nudged Runningwind's shoulder and was pleased when he stumbled slightly, veering from his prancing step. He narrowed his eyes playfully. "Why would I ever do that?"

"Oh, I don't know..."

The Thunderpath came into view, shiny-pelted monsters roaring past. Mousefur flicked her tail at Thornpaw. "Stay close by me," she ordered. She knew Thornpaw wasn't foolish enough to wander onto the Thunderpath himself, but it was fully dark now and there was always a chance that one of the monsters would veer off the path.

Runningwind lifted his muzzle to the air. "I smell something."

"Really?" Mousefur meowed. "I can't smell anything with the stench of those monsters."

Runningwind flicked his ears. His shoulder fur was rising uneasily. "I think we should go back to camp."

"But we haven't finished the patrol," Mousefur mewed. She opened her mouth, tasting the air. It was thick with the reek of the Thunderpath, and the forest underneath that. "I don't smell anything strange."

From behind them, Thornpaw let out a violent shriek. Mousefur spun, her fur bristling, and saw him with his claws digging into the ground, being pulled backward by a ragged form. She knew it was a cat by shape, but it was too dark for her to make out the pelt color, and the smell of the Thunderpath made it impossible to tell if it was a Clan cat or not. She felt her lips draw back into a snarl and launched herself forward, landing across the cat's shoulders. She dug her claws into the matted fur, calling out a battle cry. "Let go of my apprentice, foxdung!"

"Mousefur!" Runningwind's cry made her look up in time to see more of the cats advancing out of the bushes, fur bristling and teeth gleaming in the early moonlight. They threw themselves into the fight, forming a knot of ragged pelts and broken teeth. Mousefur lashed out blindly, feeling her claws dig into fur and flesh. There wasn't enough light for her to tell the identities of any of the cats, and the Thunderpath roared into the background, drowning out everything but her own panicked heartbeat in her ears.

"Mousefur!" Runningwind's voice came from the heart of the fight. "Mousefur, take Thornpaw and get help from camp!"

"No!" Mousefur screeched back, sinking her claws into another cat's ear. "You'll be killed!"

"I'll be right behind you!"

"Runningwind--"

"Mousefur, _run_!"

&&&

They found his body by the Thunderpath, right where the fight had been. His claws were unsheathed, his ears flattened. He had died fighting.

_Died saving me._

Mousefur buried her face in the ripped fur, closed her eyes tightly. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, and she felt as if she were in a battle all over again. But the camp around her was silent, and the shadows cast by the moonlight were still. Even Bluestar, lying beside Whitestorm on Runningwind's other side, lay silent as if dead. Her blue eyes were open and unblinking.

_I'll be right behind you!_

"You lied to me, Runningwind." She whispered in the tom's ear, as if he could hear her. "You said you would be right behind me..."

Sorrow fell over her like water, clogging her throat and making it hard to move. Mousefur leaped up anyway, not able to lay still anymore.

"I'll be back in time to bury him," she murmured to Whitestorm. He nodded absently, his eyes on the camp wall.

The night was just as still as the camp, as if the forest itself was mourning Runningwind. Mousefur walked blindly through the darkness. She knew she probably shouldn't be wandering around so soon after the rogue attack, but she took a completely different path from the one on the patrol. After today, she never wanted to see the Thunderpath again.

A vole scuffled in the undergrowth. Mousefur's claws unsheathed instinctively, but she didn't stop. Why should she want to hunt right now? Why did it matter?

_Mousefur, run!_

His voice was a familiar whisper in her ear, and Mousefur obeyed without a thought. She leaped foward, crushing wildflowers beneath her paws, causing dandelions to explode in puffs of pollen. She could hear small creatures crashing around, avoiding her, but she didn't try to be stealthy in her run.

_He could do it without even trying. He could sneak up on a mouse looking right at him._

Mousefur's heart lurched. She dashed forward, trying to be faster than the pain and sorrow that trailed her like burrs caught in her pelt. The night air was cool, and there was a gentle breeze she hadn't felt during that day. It played around her, tangling with her breath and rustling her fur. Mousefur felt as if she were keeping pace with it, letting it leap with her. She ran with it.

_Ran with the wind._


End file.
